1. Looks like Uncle Pennybags is coming to Cybertron, as USAopoly, the subsidiary of Hasbro which makes the various Monopoly games, is reportedly looking at making a TransFormers version of the classic boardgame.

   Naturally, the question on everyone’s mind is “what would be Boardwalk and Park Place?” Cybertron and Unicron? Iacon and Kaon? Metroplex and Trypticon?

   …or perhaps it’ll take a sad turn, with pictures of Optimus Prime and Megatron being the representatives of those spaces.

2. In other TransFormers news, it looks like the new movie may have a song from Stan Bush(“Dare” and “The Touch” in the original 1986 animated feature).

   Wouldn’t that be a blast from the past?

3. GameSpot has reported on the PlayStation 3 preorder details of their anagram, GameStop.

   Sounds like most stores are only getting about 8 units, with a select few receiving 16. And if you preorder, that doesn’t mean you’ll get it on launch day.

   Oh, and preorders are about $100 via cash, credit, or trade.

   Yikes.

   Oh, and they start today.

4. To those who say petitions accomplish nothing: Read it and weep.

   Looks like the gears are starting to get into motion for a possible Peter Jackson-helmed The Hobbit movie.

   I’m not a huge Lord of the Rings fan, but I’ve heard that this story is rather different, so I might give it a gander.

5. Looks like not all PS3 games are going to be wallet-busters, as News4Gamers reports that Wal-Mart will be selling Sonic the Hedgehog for $39.82.

   Cool deal.

6. And finally, IGN has the final track listing for Guitar Hero II.

LBD “Nytetrayn”

Wow, slow weekend. Well, no worries, I’ve got a few treats in store.

1. IGN has a retrospective of The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, one of the Zelda titles I have regretably not yet played, along with its sister title Oracle of Seasons and The Minish Cap.

   As much as I like the old-style Zeldas, I really ought to find a way to get ahold of those.

2. GameSpy has an interview with Lacey Chabert, the actress playing Princess Elise in the upcoming Sonic the HorndogHedgehog.

   GameSpy: When you were working out the details of your contract, were you like, “I want a Sonic t-shirt, a copy of the game, two coffee mugs?.”

   Chabert: No, I don’t think I get anything. I’m going to have to go to Toys R Us and buy a copy myself.

   Wow, that’s pretty weak. Cheapskates.

3. Perhaps I missed it when it came out, but reviews of Big Brain Academy seem to be rather scarce. Downplayed, perhaps?

   Well, whatever the case, N-Philes has just added one of their own.

   On a related note, I downloaded the demo not too long ago, and had a pretty good time with it, with what there was.

4. Looks like Circuit City is having some Nintendo sales.

   GameCube
   -Supermario Strikers, Mario Baseball, Pokemon XD anyone $24.99 save 50%
   -ALS Gamecube carrying case $9.99 save $10.00

   Gameboy Advance
   -Pokemon ?Fire Red?, Pokemon ?Leaf Green?, Zelda ?Four Swords?, Mario Kart ?Super Circuit?, and Super Mario World ?super mario world 2?. anyone $14.99 save 50%

   DS
   -BD & A pen stylus 2 pak $4.99 save $5
   -Mad Catz accessory Kit $9.99 save $10
   -Free DS carrying case with purchase of DS

   Not much going on for DS, but I could really go for the rest, save the Pokemon titles, which I’m not adverse to, but are simply a lower level of priority for me.

5. Wow, talk about a “Breakfast of Champions!”

   Go Nintendo got to attend a special press event in NYC which showed off the upcoming Yoshi’s Island 2DS, and have a special themed breakfast.

   Check out the menu.

   Man, that sounds good. I wish I could’ve gone, for the food, folks, and fun.

   …I think I might’ve just infringed a copyright.

   The whole event sounds like it was a lot of fun, though.

6. GN links to a clip from IGN Weekly in which they have an interview with Perrin Kaplan from Nintendo about the Wii.

   Most interesting part, to me, is that if you need to delete a downloaded game from your Virtual Console, you don’t have to repurchase it, as it will record it as having been bought by you. Snazzy.

7. Joystiq shows a modified PlayStation 3 billboard, and comments on how advertising their shortage-facing system is only going to raise the ire of the public.

   Personally, I agree. It’s kind of an adding-insult-to-injury sort of thing.

8. Kotaku, meanwhile, snipes Best Buy’s notoriously faulty consumer help information.
9. Wow, that is one hot piece of Samus fanart.
10. Press The Buttons links to a The New Gamer piece about comfort games.

    I agree with Burnout 3, as that’s great relief. A number of Mario games work for me as well.

11. Toastyfrog has an interesting piece that looks back at one of my old favorites, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link as a part of “Metroidvania Gaiden.”
12. Like Star Wars: Clone Wars?

    Want more of it?

    Then you might be in luck.

    The show is planned as a continuation of the Emmy-winning “Clone Wars” that aired in 25 episodes on the Cartoon Network from 2003 to 2005. That series used limited animation. The new version will use 3-D computer graphics.

    Nothing against 3-D, but that’s too bad, I rather liked the stylized Star Wars look.

LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. GameSpot reports that Sony still isn’t looking to mark down the PSP’s price.“We don’t necessarily see the need to cut the price,” Sony Computer Entertainment America product manager John Koller told Reuters. “We need to offer broader value and introduce new consumers to what the PSP can do.”

   …riiiiiight.

   Meanwhile, this is great news for Nintendo, who must be breathing a sigh of relief, knowing that they don’t have to mark their system down in response as a result, and can continue to pound the numbers while Sony… does their thing.

   Hey Sony, want to introduce new consumers to what the PSP can do? Lower the price.

   Sheesh. It’s a nice piece of hardware, but… sheesh.

2. Sounds like Will Ferell may be looking to do a sequel to Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.“I would love to do a sequel,” the actor told The Toronto Star. “I was thinking, all of a sudden, for no reason, he’s a European correspondent and has to do foreign languages which he knows nothing about.”

   Sounds good already.

3. Director Brett Ratner discusses the possibility of an X-Men 4, and some info on the Wolverine movie.Me, I still have to see X-Men 3, which just hit DVD this past Tuesday.
4. In something of a shocker, it seems that George Lucas will be getting out of the movie business, citing that television is where it’s at.I’m still curious to see how Indiana Jones 4 turns out. And the Star Wars TV series.
5. Looks like Princess Elise from the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog is going Hollywood, as Lacey Chabert(Mean Girls, Party of Five) will be providing her voice in the XBox 360 and PS3 title.
6. Now this is crazy.Marvel’s new(well, not really) superteam, the Thunderbolts, is going to be comprised primarily of villainous types such as Bullseye, Venom, and the Green Goblin, working for the government to hunt down unregistered superhuman types.

   This… should be interesting.

   Marvel EIC Joe Quesada talks more about it at Newsarama.

7. N-Philes reports some Wii news from Square-Enix, including that they will support the Virtual Console, it’s just a matter of choosing what to release, and a bunch of Mana stuff, Secret and otherwise.
8. It just keeps sounding like it will be easier and easier to get a Wii.Slashdot reports that an analyst is estimating 7-9 million Wii units by the end of this year.

   Most impressive in this day and age.

9. Remember that talk about an animated Castlevania from some time back?Well, it’s back, and allegedly there’s been some leaks of various things from the production.

   Might be neat. Wonder if they’d go for the current DS game look, or something else?

10. Finally, if you haven’t heard, there’s going to be an official sequel to Peter Pan.Huh, I guess this means Hook doesn’t count? That kind of sucks, I liked that movie…

LBD “Nytetrayn”

Man, news is slow these days…

1. Now this is interesting, and a different way to start things off here.

   The world has taken another step closer to being like Star Trek… or if you prefer, Mega Man.

   “Scientists teleport two different objects.”

   Just the same, if it takes the Star Trek-styled route, I’m not sure I’d want in.

2. The Allspark has an interesting rumor surrounding the next TransFormers cartoon show, codenamed Heroes. Interestingly enough, it doesn’t sound like it corresponds with any of the toys at the moment.

   One thing to note which isn’t rumor is that the show is said to be produced in America, as opposed to the Japanese-made shows of the past several years.

3. onNintendo reports that Wii production is ahead of schedule, and may be ramped up, so there may even be MORE than the 4 million promised by the end of 2006.

   Great news if you want to find one.

LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. From the looks of things, Miis can do more than just tennis or Wario Ware.

   I wonder how long before we have people with afros in the plaza saying “pool’s closed.”

   Good news is, it looks a little more robust than Joystiq’s version. Colored eyes, at least.

   Also, Wired’s Lore Sj?berg has commentary on it.

2. Immersion calls out Sony regarding the combination of tilt-tech and force-feedback, saying it’s not only possible, but easily affordable as well, despite Sony’s claims of a “strategic move.”
3. It appears that GameStop might be taking Wii preorders soon.
4. Go Nintendo has a nice update, filled to the brim with new images and information about the newly rechristened Yoshi’s Island DS.
5. Good news, bad news.

   This week at Target, if you buy a pink DS Lite, then 100% of the profits will go to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

   The downside is, how many people want a pink DS Lite? I mean, it might make a good gift, especially if you want to get a girlfriend who’s not normally into this stuff into gaming, but…

   On the other hand, maybe more than I realize? You all tell me.

6. Sigh, why are there idiots like this that make us all look bad?

LBD “Nytetrayn”

As I was updating, the TransFormers: The Movie 20th Anniversary DVD website updated for TransFormers Tuesday, listing the bonuses and special features that will be available on the 2-disc set:

…not bad, if I do say so myself.

LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. If you thought that the Sony battery recall only counted for Dell computers, it may actually go much further than that.

   The recalls of lithium-ion batteries used in notebook computers has been expanding regularly since August. Recently, we learned that there may be more recalls to come — and these may go beyond computers, involving other electronic products as well.

   “The upcoming Sony recall could very well expand beyond notebook computers and could include DVD players and portable gaming devices,” said Vallese. The Wall Street Journal has reported almost as many fires related to portable DVD players as for laptop computers. The CPSC is in the process of verifying the actual number of reports. “The risk of a battery fire is low, but real,” Vallese added. There are billions of batteries in service, but only 47 fires reported, she noted.

   If you’ve got a product that uses a battery from Sony, I’d look further into this and keep eyes and ears open for any new developments.

2. Analyst takes a look at how the PS3 delay in Europe might affect US developers.

   Which is odd to me, considering Europe usually seems to only get stuff once we’re finished scraping it off our shoe, if then(no offense to Europeans, but things always sound more negative from over there; I don’t think that I’d want to live there as a gamer).

3. Once upon a time, South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker had created a sitcom for Comedy Network which spoofed the current president, titled That’s My Bush.

   Then 9/11 happened.

   Anyway, Paramount has rounded up the episodes that were made so that they could present them in a DVD set titled The Definitive Collection, complete with a few bonus features.

4. It’s official. The PS3 controller’s name is Sixaxis.

   Well, it delivers what it promises. I hope.

5. Sigh.

   Looks like our dreams of a unified world of gaming through the Virtua Console has been shattered.

   Thank you, Nintendo. I never wanted to play Terranigma or the Japanese Famicom Super Mario Bros. 2 through legitimate means, anyway.

   (Yes, I realize that it could still happen in theory, and yes, there will no doubt be enough on there to keep me busy anyway, but you get the general picture).

   This region locked nonsense has gotten me bummed out about the Wii. The lack of such protection on the DS is one of the things that makes the portable so darn cool. Surely, Nintendo must understand this. Surely.

   I can sympathize with the need to prohibit piracy, but surely in this day and age there must be a way to lock out piracy without locking out games from other regions.

6. Just you wait. Someone is going to take this and claim “Sony copies Nintendo.”

   It may be serious, it may be jest, but one thing I am certain of is that it WILL happen.

7. Just so you know, cybering is cheating.

   May this info help you all in your daily lives.

8. Recently, a study was concluded which looked at video games being used as teaching tools.

   I’ve always thought that, if properly implemented, it might be a good idea. Historical re-enactments and things based on literature or myths and folklore.

   Hell, look at all the World War II games out there. I would hope SOMETHING good is coming out of those…

9. Analysts think there could be a North American PS3 price cut, though not before next year.

LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. Over at The Mega Man Network, Jaxel has formed a petition in the efforts to see Mega Man Powered Up and Mega Man Maverick Hunter X continued on systems people might actually buy… or just continued at all.

   Are you mad about the MMXC getting cut down to bare bones? Are you upset that MHX and MMPU sequels are on hold? Are you mad that “Star Force” is the only treatment a 20-year old franchise is getting?

   You guys have been patient, and now it is time for our voices to be heard. I have constructed a petition that will be sent to Capcom. I’m exactly sure who/what department I’m going to send it to just yet. It basically states the remakes should continue on the Nintendo Wii (and even the PSP) for several reasons. Read the petition, and sign it. When signing, feel free to voice whatever feelings you might have on the topic, whatever they may be.

   Of course, nothing is assured, but Jaxel does have some inroads with Capcom, and may at least be able to get our wishes into the hands of someone who will listen.

   …and really, it’s not like you’ve anything to loseWeight Exercise by signing, but we can gain so much if it does succeed.

2. Seems to be a slight bit of chaos regarding the Wii demo kiosks.

   Sounds like GameStop may be the only place to get them before launch. I wonder if that’s just in the US.

   They also don’t know if they’ll do preorders for Wii or PS3, after demand well outstripped supply at XBox 360′s launch.

3. Remember that talk back at the start of the year about Burger King selling XBox 360 games?

   Well, it’s on, now. Er, soon.

   I’m disappointed the Burger King Kids Club isn’t among the mascots to trash in some of the games. But if I had an XBox(original or 360 work for these), then I think Sneak King sounds the most interesting, even though I suck at that genre.

4. This Wednesday… South Park takes on World of Warcraft.

   Be there.

   …unless you’re like me, and can’t.

   Joystiq has some vids, in the meantime.

5. Spider-man 3 has finished filming, and Kirsten Dunst might have changed her mind about that whole “Spider-man should die” thing.
6. For you importing types, IGN points to December 14th as the release date for Ryuusei no Rockman in Japan.
7. A disturbing post at Go Nintendo for us Canucks… it looks like we might be getting boned on the price for the Wii up here, according to Amazon.ca’s listing of $334.99.

   Worse still is that the site shows that as a reduction from $463.99.

   For comparison, an XBox 360 on their site, with no markdown, is $499.99.

   Can’t help but think something is seriously wrong with this picture.

8. N-Europe reveals that Nintendo has confirmed there will not be individual friend codes on Wii.

   That’s a relief.

LBD “Nytetrayn”

The Allspark has a number of interesting pieces of TransFormers news coming off of BotCon this past weekend, so let’s take a look at some of the more interesting pieces.

1. Through most of October, Paramount Pictures is holding a unique contest in which you can provide the great Optimus Prime with lines in the new movie.
2. Some interesting things at panels number one and two from IDW, publishers of the TransFormers comic books, including that they may start hitting more regular retailers closer to the time of the movie’s release.
3. Longtime TransFormers scribe Simon Furman discusses things in a panel of his own.
4. Next year’s BotCon is going to be held in an interesting venue… Hasbro, in Rhode Island!Hell, that might even be driving distance for me…
5. Hasbro also had a panel or two, addressing various things regarding the toys and stuff.Scramble City is going to be on the movie DVD? Awesome!Q-What are your feelings on Kiss-play?
   A-They can do what they want in their market, but it doesn’t make sense to Hasbro either. “Whatever works for them”.

   The BotCon TF Club also had a panel, as well as the TCC Newsletter.

   …Classics = Generation 3…?

6. At BotCon this past weekend, Peter Cullen(voice of Optimus Prime, Eeyore, Mario, and the Predator, among others) had an interesting thing or two to say to his fans.
7. Many images from BotCon are available as well, including pics of upcoming toys and concepts, and you can see them in The Allspark’s various BotCon albums.
8. Scott McNeil, Pauline Newstone, Blu Mankuma, and Richard Newman got together at BotCon to take some questions on the 10th anniversary of Beast Wars.

LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. Hmm, seems that Dead Rising is facing a handicap in Japan.
2. Gotta love the scam Disney has going on.

   If you’re asking “which one?” …heh.

   Anyway, they’re tossing some films into the vault.

   Me, I’m one of those who wonders if this is a literal vault, and if it is, what it looks like inside…

3. Robert Downey, Jr. has been cast to play Tony Stark, aka Iron Man. But no word yet on whether or not he’ll sing the song.
4. IGN digs up some new Ninja Gaiden Sigma info in their interview with Team Ninja’s Andy Szymanski. Sounds interesting, and may be the first “unique”(in a sense) PS3 game I’m really interested in.
5. One last reminder, today from Noon to 3 at Toys R Us is when you can get Mew.
6. First it was NES, Super NES, and N64(plus backwards compatibility with GameCube games).

   Then, they threw SEGA Genesis and NEC’s TurboGrafx-16 into the mix.

   Now, according to N-Philes, it looks like you might be able to get Commodore 64 games on your Virtual Console as well.

   Slashdot touches further on it.

   I’m waiting for MAME, myself. Sure, NES Donkey Kong or Mario Bros. is all well and good, but I want to play the arcade versions. Among others…

   Master System and Saturn wouldn’t hurt my feelings any, either. Just for completion’s sake.

   …well, I’d say Atari, but did they have anything that wasn’t released on another system that’s worth adding?

7. Go Nintendo reports that the Japanese site for Custom Robo Arena is finally up.

   Looking good so far, I can’t wait to give it a try, as I only got to play a little of the GameCube version.

8. Little has been said about Bully until recently. That is, little has been said with any real basis of fact, as the game had been kept tightly under wraps, not that it has stopped lawyers and family groups.

   Anyway, Scott Sharkey has a preview of the mysterious-yet-controversial title.

LBD “Nytetrayn”